Walmart’s Largest Acquisition Ever Will Hurt Profit

Walmart slashed its financial forecast, warning that a big acquisition in India will weigh on profits and that e-commerce growth is facing a slowdown next year.

Walmart, which completed its $16 billion acquisition of a 77 percent stake in Flipkart in August, projected that comparable sales growth at U.S. stores next year - fiscal 2020 - would be 2.5 percent to 3.0 percent.

Walmart also estimates a slower growth rate of 35 percent for its online business in the year ending in January 2020, against expectations for 40 percent growth in the current year.

Meanwhile, fiscal 2020 sales are seen rising at least 3% over 2019 levels; US same-store sales are expected to rise between 2.5% and 3% during the same period; and net e-commerce sales projected to grow at an approximately 35% clip.

Walmart Inc. now expects 2019 adjusted earnings of between $4.65 and $4.80 per share, down from $4.90 to $5.05.

In August, Walmart posted its best quarterly US sales growth in a decade and raised its full-year sales and profit outlooks, showing it could hold its own against Amazon.

Since buying Jet.com for more than $3 billion two years ago, Walmart has been bulking up online, buying companies such as Bonobos and ModCloth. These include a website redesign, more online grocery offerings and acquisition of fashion brands to improve its appeal to millennial shoppers, who have typically stayed away from making purchases on the retailer's websites.

Over the years, Walmart has worked to use physical locations as distribution points for online orders of groceries and other goods, in order to retain buyers who increasingly expect quick, cheap shipping. The company said to expect operating income and earnings per share in the "low single-digit percentage range" between fiscal 2019 and fiscal 2020 when it's included-but to increase when it isn't.

The retailer will address investors at its Bentonville, Arkansas headquarters starting at 9:00 a.m.

NHL roundup: Leafs' Matthews scores 8th, 9th goals
Alex Ovechkin , Patrick Marleau , Mario Lemieux and Mike Bossy are the only other players in league history to pull off the feat. Marner's three goals and seven assists has him tied with Tavares for the second-most points in the National Hockey League . 10/17/2018

Canelo signs 11-fight, $365M deal with DAZN
Will you be watching Canelo fight on DAZN this December? 'I am moving up in weight, and I don't know how my body will feel. Canelo Alvarez has signed an eye-watering contract with DAZN worth almost £278million over the next five years. 10/17/2018

Northern Irish author Anna Burns' 'Milkman' wins Man Booker Prize
Mr Appiah said numerous 171 books that had been submitted for the prize were overlong and badly in need of a vigorous pruning. Milkman appears on the printed page with few paragraph marks, which has led some to label it experimental and challenging. 10/17/2018

Marlins moving HR sculpture to plaza outside stadium
The Marlins plan to use the space inside the stadium to create a new multistory, standing-room-only spectator area. They added the new location "will allow the piece to be enjoyed year round in a more public-facing manner". 10/17/2018

Wendy's employees shame customer, call him "chubby"
Shue said he reached out to Wendy's to complain, but the particular restaurant he was at is franchised and locally owned. He says the " Chubby " insult came out of the blue when he stopped at the Gastonia restaurant around 8pm on October 4. 10/17/2018

Diabetes to be SAs leading killer by 2040, study shows
But average life expectancy in the USA , one of the world's richest nations, is forecast to increase by only 1.1 years to 79.8. Other countries in the top 10 are expected to be Switzerland, Portugal, Italy, Israel, France, Luxembourg and Australia. 10/17/2018